Richard Arnold: US Correspondent on the response to Julian Assange's release and guilty plea

Supporters and sceptics of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange are speaking out at news of his release.  

The 52-year-old is a few hours away from pleading guilty to a US espionage charge and will be sentenced to time already served.  

US Correspondent Richard Arnold told Mike Hosking that there's been condemnation but also celebration from those closest to him.  

Assange's wife and lawyer, Stella, says it's been a whirlwind of emotions, and she is elated.  

However, Richard Arnold says, some media commentators are still suspicious over allegations of Assange's ties to Russia. 

LISTEN ABOVE 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
International correspondence with ends and eye insurance, peace of mind
for New Zealand business.

Speaker 2 (00:05):
Why's that drugrichardarld morning, good morning? Like has he left Sidepan?
Do we know actually literally where he is?

Speaker 1 (00:12):
He is inside Pan And in a few hours they're
going to have that hearing on what is US territory?
That's a little dot in the Pacific where some what
thirty three thousand people died during World War Two? Now
US territory. That is why Australian Border Sans, founder of
Wiki Leagues, paid five hundred thousand bucks four the private
jet flight from the UK to the remote island to

(00:33):
face a single felony account of illegally disclosing national security
infomostly about Iraq and the Afghan Wars. You know, I
remember first hearing about assangean day one when some producers
told me who cares about that? Turns out a lot
of folks. Assange has waged the strangest battle to stay
out of the hands of American justice through these what
fourteen years or so. He lived in the ecuador An

(00:56):
embassy y're a gall in London for years with his
cat there was arrested thereby the britsween Ecuador withdrew the asylum.
He avoided sexual assault claims from Sweden in the case
THESSA as long as denied and in which charges since
had been dropped. In his London maximum security prison for
the past five years, he was confined to hisself for
twenty three hours a day, with one hour per day

(01:16):
in a prison yard for exercise. As to what he
did with Wiki leaks, in twenty nineteen, a US federal
grand jury charged him on eighteen counts that could have
brought him a combined prison term of one hundred and
seventy years for leaking almost half a million secret military
documents and videos, including one for two thousand and seven
a US Apache helicopter attack on Iraqi civilians. San said,

(01:37):
the real story of this material is that it's war.
It's one damn thing after another. Well, a lot of
this material came from the former US soldier Bradley Manning
now Chelsea Manning. After the sexchange, Manning served on seven
years in prison until her term was commuted by then
President Obama. Manning sought a New Zealand visa for speaking
to her back in twenty eighteen. As to reactions, well,

(02:00):
there is celebration and condemnation. We've been hearing these mixed responses,
says his wife, Stellar over what's occurring. It's a whirlwind
of emotions.

Speaker 3 (02:11):
I mean, I'm just elated.

Speaker 1 (02:14):
Also supportive is the President Brazil, the Silver and filmmaker
Michael Moore, who once put up a jail bond twenty
thousand bucks Forsannge. Donald Trump, who once said he loved
Wiki leaks, now says not my thing. President Biden indicated
he was open to ending this saga with his plea
deal for Mike Pence calls the Assige release a miscarriage

(02:34):
of justice. The journalism world also is divided. The Committee
to Protect Journalist welcomes his release and slams the use
of the Espionage Act to go after Assange. The International
Federation of Journalists calls his release a quote significant victory
for media freedom, while media commentator and former CIA man
Bob Bear says Assange crossed the line in his thinking

(02:56):
by failing to redact the names of Iraqi and sources.

Speaker 3 (03:01):
If they get those kind of names, they never publicize them.
They want to protect lives. He didn't do that. He's
not a journalist. He put those names in the leaks,
he did not redact them. We don't know what's happened
to a lot of those people. Probably a lot of
them got a bullet in the back of the head.

Speaker 1 (03:16):
So Massrange will go back to Australia, and Barbea says
there is still much that remains unknown, Like Asonge's rumored
Russia times.

Speaker 3 (03:25):
He had at a time a server operating off a
server in Moscow. He had a lot of strange Russian contacts.
He never ran leaks, you know, against against Russia at all.
So in the intelligence community, the FBI, the question was
was he in a Russian proxy?

Speaker 1 (03:43):
So hero will Hellian you decide exactly.

Speaker 2 (03:46):
Then we got a course with Snowden, who isn't that
particular part of the world, along with Evan Gershkovitz who
is on trial.

Speaker 1 (03:52):
Yes, so still on the issue of journalism and secrets.
We have Gushkevich who's going to going to court tomorrow.
He has been held in prison in Russia since March
of last year and what President Biden calls a legal detention.
Efforts to organize so far a prisoners swop have failed,
although Putin has indicated he might be open to one
if Americans can arrange freedom for one of Putin's crony's

(04:14):
held in Germany. So complicated Evan Gerskevich will be tried
in secret in the city of Katrenberg and faces up
to twenty years in prison. No family, friends, or US
embassy staff will be given access. As Russia expert William Pomerantz.

Speaker 3 (04:30):
There is going to be no fair trial. He is
going to be convicted, and once he is convicted then
some sort of negotiations will take place.

Speaker 1 (04:38):
So two key cases, the challenges of journalism.

Speaker 2 (04:41):
All right, MPE, So you next week precied a very
much Richard Arnold State Sides.

Speaker 1 (04:45):
For more from the Mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to
news Talks.

Speaker 3 (04:48):
It'd be from six am weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio